Spectral Sensations
by ShippoizmaFOX
Summary: Naraku gains a dangerous new weapon. The companions fight to stop him before he can unleash these new powers on Feudal Japan, but things don't go according to plan. Now Kagome is trapped between worlds, forced to watch as the modern era passes her by. Wil
1. Prologue

Prologue

The leaves rustled in the dry autumn breeze. She reached her dainty hand upward trying to catch the crinkled piece of reddish gold as it wafted overhead. She held it only for a moment before releasing it into the wind.

_' No sense in scaring kids with a floating leaf_' She thought dryly

She sighed. It was times like these that she despised Naraku more than ever and loathed the face she was not dead. She was no longer a living girl but rather a figment of the imagination, living only through flimsy ghost tales that didn't tell the story right at all.

She leaned back again the shedding tree, wishing nor more than ever she could go back to the way things were before. Fighting demons was far better than existing in this limbo. She gauged the time of morning a talent she had learned in the Feudal Era. There was no longer a Feudal Era as she had known it, only an eerie, alternate reality where demons existed in present day Japan and Naraku still lived.

She was in Kyoto, Japan looking for the first of her friends, who had been spread abroad.

Kagome shifted in the Priestess garb that she had been trapped in when time stopped, the time when the jewel had been taken from her, and when her life had been left in ruins.

Not being able to be seen by the living had started to take its toll on the young girl, but now was not the time for self pity. She had a job to do and it was about time she located Inuyasha.


	2. Chapter 1

"Where the hell is this bus

"Where the hell is this bus?"  
The young man growled impatiently under his breath as he waited at the crowded stop. Checking the time on his phone again he saw that he only had twenty minutes in order to get to school on time. If he got one more detention he would be suspended from the wrestling team for sure.

He was determined not to let anything get in the way of his wrestling.

Irritably he looked down the street once more. The bus was almost there now. "Finally," he muttered. He could make it on time if he got on this bus. Well, he would much rather run to school-he would beat the bus-but such acts of demon strength were frowned upon by society these days.

The bus continued to lumber down the road, eventually coming to a halt in front of the bus stop. People poured off in droves with an equal number waiting to board. The boy pushed his way onto the bus and sat down in the first available seat.

Inuyasha ignored the weird looks he received as he sat. Humans were forever staring at his furry, dog ears. Trying to ignore the stares, he stared vacantly out the window as the bus started moving once more. He sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in his thoughts. As they slowed down at the next scheduled stop, something outside the bus caught his attention.  
There was a young woman there, dressed in the red and white robes of a priestess. 'She must work for a shrine or something,' he pondered.

There was something vaguely familiar about her eyes, and it made him nervous for some reason. He continued staring at her until he realized that the bus had started to pass her by. Wasn't that what she was waiting for?

"Hey! You passed a lady back there!" Inuyasha yelled up to the driver, causing a hush to fall over the occupants of the bus.

"What are you talking about kid? There was no one at that stop!" the driver retorted.

Inuyasha was about to counter when he looked back toward the stop and realized that there was indeed no one there.

'Was that him?' Kagome thought as she hurriedly followed the silver haired boy along the sidewalk. At first she hadn't recognized him, as he was dressed in the typical black uniform of a high school boy and not the fire red robes that she was used to seeing him in. He wore his long hair in a braid that was tucked into the back of his jacket rather than leaving it wild and free like she was used to. What had caught her attention were the dog ears on top of his head, as she only knew one half demon with both silver hair and those fluffy ears.

'Have I found you, Inuyasha? You look so tame now.'  
She watched as he boarded the bus, pushing his way through the hordes of people who were attempting to do the same. It was too crowded to get close enough to him, she would have to try boarding at the next stop.

Stealing one last glance she started running down the street, trying to avoid running through the many people occupying the sidewalks. She turned right after a few blocks and finally halted at the next posted bus stop. She leaned against the sign while she attempted to catch her breath. It was then that she noticed that there was no one standing there with her.  
It was only about a minute's wait before she heard the engine of the large bus roaring toward her.

It started to slow its pace as it approached the stop, its brakes squealing loudly in protest. When it had finally come to rest, she spotted him in a window near the front of the bus. His eyes met with hers, and his piercing gaze sent tingles through her body. He didn't appear to be looking through her, but rather straight AT her. 'Can he really see me? I thought no one could see me.' The bus started rolling forward again, never having opened its doors. 'Well I suppose the driver couldn't see me then,' she thought irritably. This was going to take a while. She set off in a run once more, chasing after the bus and her long lost companion.

"I'm honored that you could join us on time today Mr. Takahashi," remarked the professor as Inuyasha stepped into the classroom with only a minute to spare. Mr. Wanatabe was his first period history teacher, and as such was frequently subjected to the tired excuses of a tardy hanyou.

"Feh. You're lucky I came at all today," Inuyasha snorted while folding his arms and tucking his hands into his sleeves.

"Just take your seat". He gestured to the single vacant desk, sighing as the petulant student stomped past him.

"Whatever." Inuyasha took his seat next to his friend Hotaru.

"Hey man, what's wrong? You looked spaced and shit".

Hotaru was a sheltered human, having never met a demon until entering high school. His family had sent him to a small private school up until then, hoping to instill in their son their morals and prejudices. Somehow he had become close friends with the half demon though, and was now able to read him like a book.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Inuyasha whispered, looking straight ahead at the board.

" What do you mean ghosts?" Hotaru raised an eyebrow in apprehension.

"Like wandering spirits from the afterlife and things like that. What do you think I meant?"

"Why do you wanna know? You aren't possessed or anything weird like that are you? What happened?"

"I don't know. I thought I saw something...er, someone this morning when I was on the bus. She looked so familiar, like I should know her." He dropped his head into his hands and absently scratched his ears. "She was about our age, too young to be dead...I think she might have worked at a shrine, or maybe she was some kind of miko..."

"What makes you think that she was dead? And what do you care anyway?"

"I don't know..."

"All right students, settle down. Class has started." This ended the conversation, leaving Inuyasha alone to his thoughts.

Kagome peeked into Inuyasha's classroom from a window toward the back of the room. Luckily he was on the first floor, or else she might not have been able to keep an eye on him. Despite being ghostly, she did not have the ability to fly. Chuckling lightly she turned her attention back to the silver haired student. She could see that his brow was wrinkled in though as he chewed the end of his pen.

'I wonder what he's thinking about. Did he really see me? And if he did, does he remember our quest? Does he remember Sango or Miroku or Shippo...or me?' She began to think about her other friends then. 'Where are they? I haven't seen a sign of them anywhere in Kyoto...so are the elsewhere? Are they even in Japan?'

She had tried to find Inuyasha first since she figured he would remember her most easily since she had known him the longest. If everything worked out as she had hoped, he could help her to locate the others. All she needed to do now was to get Inuyasha alone and try to talk to him. Since he had seen her, maybe she could communicate with him.

'It's worth a try at least,' she thought, and she began to devise a plan to get him alone.

"I can't believe you're still thinking about that girl." He looked at his friend's faraway expression and furrowed his own brow in frustration. "Snap out of it dude! Otherwise I'm gonna have to tell people you've got a thing for a dead chick, and we all know how that sounds..." Hotaru bit into his apple fiercely. He glanced over the lunch table carefully examining his reticent friend. Inuyasha had been quiet and withdrawn all morning, which wasn't like the half demon at all.

"I agree with Hotaru, man. Get yourself together". Kyo, another friend and wrestling team member of Inuyasha's, was seated to the left of Hotaru. "I mean, Ami was totally flirting with you in Lab today, and what did you do? You completely ignored her!"

"Feh. She isn't my type, " Inuyasha mumbled.  
" C'mon Inuyasha, she's everyone's type!" Hotaru snickered.

"What, are you Miroku now?" He had said it before he could stop himself. "I mean stop bein' a perv."

"Uh, who the hell is Miroku?" Hotaru asked as he stood to throw out the core of his finished apple.

" I don't know why I said that..." He averted his eyes, not wanting his friends to see the emotions that were painted there.

Kyo was the first to respond. "Maybe you should go to the nurse or something, dude. If you keep this up your totally going to blow any matches coming up!".

"I'll think about it..."

" WAKE UP! Seriously Inuyasha I want the cussing, ignorant asshole that was my best friend back!"

"Maybe I will go see the nurse," Inuyasha said as he stood up and threw out the rest of his lunch.

He exited the cafeteria and made his way to the courtyard. He had no need to see the nurse, he just needed some time to think. He knew that his friend's would never understand how he felt right now. They hadn't been with him on that bus, and even if they had it probably wouldn't affect them the way it was affecting him.

The moment he had seen her, fragments of old memories the he couldn't remember living came rushing back to him. He remembered the Feudal Era, as if he had lived through it himself. He remembered wielding a demon sword. He remembered that girl from the bus stop, only she was wearing a school uniform-much like the one the girls at his school wore-in place of the shrine maiden robes.

It couldn't be right...she didn't go to his school, and how could they have lived over 500 years ago? He may be a half demon, but he knew he wasn't that old. He sat down on a stone bench in the middle of the quad, placing his elbows on his knees and propped his head on hands. Something about these visions, these memories...it wasn't right at all.

All of a sudden he felt an ominous chill. Shivering, he wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing upper arms tightly. He had the strange feeling that someone was watching him, but there was no one in sight. Suddenly a girl came into a hazy focus, making his eyes swim. It was the girl from before, the girl he had seen from the bus! She was still dressed like a priestess, and Inuyasha could now faintly detect her scent. It was of wild flowers and instant noodles...he knew he had smelled it once before.

For a ghost, she didn't smell the least bit of death.

"Inuyasha, can you see me?"

He could only nod meekly as his astonishment had frozen his vocal chords. He watched as the ghostly girl moved forward and began to wrap her arms around him. At first he shivered at her touch, but then somehow he felt at ease in her embrace.

"Inuyasha, it's me, Kagome...do you remember me?" Her voice was but a whisper, the quiet tones laced with a sad hopefulness.

"Kagome?"

"Yes?"


	3. Chapter 2

Flashback

Flashback!

"Hold still!" Kagome scolded as she attempted to cleanse Inuyasha's wounds. The group had just suffered an encounter with another of Naraku's minions. A large bull demon, empowered by a shard of the sacred jewel, had attacked the companions along with a horde of lesser demons who were under Naraku's control.

In the end they had defeated the bull demon, but not without injury. Kagome's physical wounds were the most minor of the group, save for little Shippo who had been hiding along the sidelines. The small nick on her arm would heal quickly, but she had severely drained her spiritual energy and was left quite weakened. Sango remained unconscious from her fall off of Kirara's back, and the demon cat was nursing a few cracked ribs. Miroku lay trembling, covered in a cold sweat as he fought the toxins of the saimyosho. The most gruesome wounds belonged to Inuyasha though. Besides having several deep gashes along his arms and chest, he had been gored straight through the stomach by the bull sharp horns.

"Feh. I'm tryin' to tell you wench that this ain't necessary. I'll be better by tomorrow without your help, " he said defiantly, folding his arms over his bare chest. He was almost convincing, save for the momentary grimace he had let slip from the pain of moving so abruptly.

"Inuyasha, these are serious wounds! You can't think you'll be better by tomorrow...you have a hole through your stomach!" Ignoring his protests, she began unravelling a roll of gauze in order to pack the wound while carefully eyeing his exposed wounds. "And you're still bleeding for your information."

"I'm a half demon, Kagome. This is just a scratch"

"I would hate to see what you would call serious..." she muttered as she began to wrap his torso. He sat still for her, though he refused to meet her gaze, his angry expression aimed at the ceiling to his right.

"Uh...how's your arm?" he asked gently as she finished bandaging his stomach, effectively breaking the awkward silence that had developed between them.

"This? It's nothing". She glanced at her hastily bandaged arm before returning her attention to him. "I'm more worried about you guys...I only got in the way..."

" If you didn't put up that barrier when you did someone might have gotten killed!"

"But I've never done it before! It could've gone all wrong! I could have purified you or Shippo or Kirara...and then I passed out and you got..you got..."

Her hands began to shake as she stared at them in front of her. She held them away from her body like they were some sort of dangerous weapon. 'Maybe they are,' she thought darkly. Tears began to burn her eyes as she bit her bottom lip and crossed her arms in front of her chest, tucking her hands beneath her arms. She couldn't look at them anymore, the untrained hands that could possibly hurt-possibly kill- some of her closest friends.

"It's not you fault we're hurt, Kagome," he said soothingly as he shifted closer to her. "Naraku's the one to blame for all this."

"Yes, it is my fault. I can't do anything right aside from detecting jewel shards...but I was the one who broke it in the first place. People die because of what I did!"

A single tear broke free and trickled down her cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and cast her eyes downward, embarrassed and ashamed. "Everyone is hurting because of me..." She buried her face into her hands then, her wrenching sobs causing her body to quiver spasmodically.

"Don't cry, Kagome. None of this was your fault". He timidly placed a clawed hand on her shoulder, the comforting gesture still unusual for him.

"You can't keep telling me it isn't my fault when it is...now stop moving so I can clean these gashes on your arm".

"You can't just change the subject, Kagome. If you really feel like this is all your fault then what are you gonna do about it? You can't just cry and hope it all goes away".

"I know that, Inuyasha. It's just a lot for a girl to handle...I want to get Naraku for all the evil he has done, and to find the rest of the shards of the jewel...I just want everyone to be happy...especially you".

Their eyes met for a electrifying moment before they turned away in unison. She continued to clean out the large cuts on his arms in grateful silence, her cheeks burning brightly.

"Thanks, Kagome..."

"You're welcome. I'll change the bandages in a few hours. It's going to be a long night with all of these injuries," she stated as she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her skirt.

"No, I mean thanks for staying here with me." He smiled warmly as he lay down on the old sleeping mat. Exhaustion overtook him moments later, his rhythmic breathing sounding throughout the small hut.

"You're welcome, Inuyasha".

After checking to see that her other companions were also resting, she decided to go and see if Shippo had found more water. She quietly exited the hut, discovering she was just in time to see the final rays of the setting sun. She sighed deeply as her eyes followed the paths of fuchsia and violet as they traveled into the expanse of indigo and cobalt beyond. Despite that it was losing the battle to light up the sky, those rays of light pressed onward into the encroaching darkness.

'Even though it seems hopeless, I can't give up on our quest,' she thought determinately. 'Besides, I belong here...with Inuyasha'.

As the last of the sun's warmth disappeared beyond the horizon, she readjusted her sweater in a well-practiced motion. Night time in the Feudal Era could be quite chilly, even during these summer months. She wrapped her arms around herself as she set off into the forest. Shippo had been gone for quite a while now, and she was beginning to worry that something might have happened to the little kit.

When she entered into the thick undergrowth, she was reminded that skirts were not necessarily the finest choice of attire when one was traveling through the woods. Her skin screamed an angry red as the brush scratched and tore at her exposed legs. She let out a hiss as a particularly mean-spirited bush ripped open the tender flesh on the back of her thigh. The wound stung fiercely, and she could feel the heat of her blood as it trickled down the back of her leg.

"Stupid bush!" she admonished the gnarled shrub.

She peered through the trees, searching for a place to rest. The cut on her leg certainly wasn't a serious wound, but she wanted to clean it up before she got blood all over her clothes. Spotting a clearing not far ahead, she carefully made her way through the forest growth and came to rest beneath a large tree.

She retrieved the last vestiges of gauze from her sweater pocket, having used most of her supply for Inuyasha's wounds. She angled her leg so that she could inspect the cut, gently dabbing away the light flow of blood. As the wound began to clot, she leaned back against the solid trunk and gazed up at the verdant canopy overhead. In her rush to find a clearing she had failed to recognize the giant tree as the mighty Goshinboku.

"This is where it all began...where I met Inuyasha," she whispered as she stood to touch the aged bark. She ran her fingers over the knobby wood, coming to stop when they found the hole where Kikyo's arrow had pierced Inuyasha's heart. She shuddered slightly at the lingering malice that emanated from the mark. She took a step backwards and studied the void where he had been pinned for over fifty years. There was a sadness about it that permeated the surrounding area, causing her heart to ache under its weight.

So many memories...so many emotions were so intimately connected with the enchanted tree. Usually she found comfort in it. It was a solid connection of her life in the Feudal Era to her life in the present day. An unchanging embodiment of her connection to the half demon she traveled with...but the bittersweet ambiance she was currently experiencing left her feeling lost and out of place. Tearing her eyes from the tree she made to continue her trek when a small, excited voice reached her ears.

"Kagome!" She braced herself as a small puff of auburn fur streaked across the clearing and flung itself into her arms.

"Shippo! Did you find some water?" She embraced the small kit warmly, glad to find that no harm had come to him.

"Yes, I brought the bottles back to the hut, but you were missing so I came to find you. What are you doing way out here anyway?"

"I was looking for you!" she chuckled. "Now that we've found each other, let's look for some more herbs for Miroku. Hopefully he'll wake up soon and I want to have more medicine ready for him."

"Sure thing, Kagome!" He leapt from her arms and scampered into the forest once more.

--

"I do believe, Lady Kagome, that it was your magical touch that had healed me so quickly."

They were sitting outside of the small hut, huddled around a crackling fire. Miroku had awoken a short while ago, and since Shippo had gone to sleep, it was just the two of them awake now.

"It was nothing, really! Just some stuff I learned from Kaede and some supplies from my time." Even though she was a humble person at heart, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride at his words. She smiled exuberantly despite herself.

"You never cease to amaze me," he replied, clasping her hands in his and donning a lopsided smile.

Kagome suddenly felt far less giddy and she pinned him with a cold stare. "Yeah, you're healed all right. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Grinning slyly he questioned her. "Do you really think so little of me?"

"Uh, I think I know you well enough at this point to say: yes, I do." She laughed quietly as she removed her hands from the monk's and made to tend to the fire.

"You wound me," he chided.

"Oh please," Kagome replied. They both smiled and then returned to their fire-gazing. After a few minutes of silence Kagome stood and walked back toward the hut. She quietly peeked inside, and was satisfied that her friends were still resting comfortably.

When she returned to the fire she noticed that the monk now had a serious air about him. "Kagome, did notice anything odd about that bull demon earlier today?"

She thought back to their previous battle and shook her head. "No, not that I can think of."

The demonic barrier that protected it, did it not seem slightly peculiar to you?"

"You know, now that you mention it, I think it was different than what we usually face with Naraku." she replied, scratching her chin in thought.

"I agree, and if I'm not mistaken, it was your arrow that brought down the barrier and not the red Tetsusaiga."

"You're right! But my arrow didn't dissolve it right away. It kind of joined with the barrier before purifying it...sort of like my powers melded with that of the barrier." Her expression darkened as she started to put more thought into the situation.

"Precisely. Since this demon was under the protection of Naraku, we know that the barrier belonged to him. This leads me to believe that Naraku has employed the use a another dark priestess."

"You mean like Tsubaki?"

"I believe that the priestess in question is more powerful than Tsubaki, but yes I would say that their powers are of a similar type. However, I get the feeling that this particular priestess has the ability to use both holy and evil energies at will."

"How could someone do that? I didn't think it was possible."

"This priestess has not yet chosen which path to walk, the path of good or evil. I believe she is still battling between the two."

"Then we have to find her before she decides to follow after Naraku. We have to try and save her!"

" I believe that is what we must do..."

"Well, when the rest of the group wakes up we'll have to tell them. Until then I want you to rest, Miroku. We need everybody at their full strength."

"You tend to us so splendidly, Lady Kagome."

"You should rest yourself. It would do us no good if our only priestess and caretaker should fall ill herself." He stood up and left the fire, heading inside of the small hut. As he entered the doorway he turned back to her to add, "and let your dreams be peaceful".

Kagome decided that it was probably a good idea to turn in for the night as well. She put out the fire and then returned to the small room that was their shelter. She went over to the corner where her sleeping bag had been laid out and tucked herself inside. Her mind was swimming with questions. If this was Naraku's new weapon then they were in trouble.


End file.
